Warts are skin growths caused by a viral infection in the outer layer of skin.
Warts are very common, particularly in children. An estimated 20% of school-age children at some time have at least one wart.
In children, warts tend to disappear over a period of several months to years, but sometimes they can be very stubborn and resistant to many types of treatment.
In many adults, warts often prove even more difficult to destroy.
Warts
Their appearance depends on their location.
Common warts generally grow on the hands and fingers and around the nails. They are frequently seen on the knees and elbows, especially in children. They usually have a bumpy, cauliflowerlike appearance.
Plantar (not “planter's”) warts are located on the soles of the feet. When they grow in clusters, they are known as mosaic warts. Plantar warts often have “black dots.”
Flat warts are small, smooth, skin colored, and flat. In children, they are most often seen on the face. In adults, they are seen on the legs in women and on the face in both sexes. Shaving tends to spread them.
Filiform (threadlike) warts
The choice of one or more of the following methods of treatment depends on: the type of wart, the location of the wart(s), and the age of the patient.
Peeling agents that contain salicylic acid
These are available in over-the-counter products such as Duofilm, Occlusal, and Compound W. Also, 40% salicylic acid plasters that are cut to the size of the wart are available. These preparations provide the best treatment for small children in whom warts often disappear on their own.
For best results, the affected area should be hydrated first by soaking it in warm water for five minutes before applying the medication.
It's also a good method for plantar warts—one that's painless, inexpensive, and doesn't require office visits.
Flat warts
Freezing (cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen)
Liquid nitrogen is applied with a cotton swab or with a cryotherapy “freezing gun.”
It's fast, and many warts can be treated on each visit; however, it can be painful and may require many office visits.
Plantar warts
Other office treatments
Lasers, blistering chemicals (“bug juice”), and acids are just a few of many treatments that are being used to treat warts.
There have been reports of the successful use of Aldara cream on flat warts, some common warts, and plantar warts. You need a prescription for Aldara cream.
Plantar warts (mosaic)
How do I know when the warts are gone?
How do you get warts and how do you avoid spreading warts to others?
Never shake hands! Never kiss anyone! Never walk barefoot! Live in a bubble! And you still can get ‘them and spread them.
As you can see, the numerous treatments that are used for warts are testimony to the fact that we don't have any definite “cure” for them.
More often than not, warts tend to “cure” themselves over time.
The hero of successful wart treatment is usually the last person to treat the wart or the last person to recommend a treatment before the wart goes away.
The “wart hero” may have been a wart charmer, a hypnotist, or a person who recommended a folk medicine, such as the application of garlic or aloe vera, or even … a dermatologist!
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